Packrafting / Fatbiking Buntzen Lake
I took my new Pugsley out to Buntzen Lake this weekend. I wanted to try out the bike on the packraft but didn’t want to get salt water over everything, and Buntzen is the closet place you can do that without dealing with whitewater in the North Shore rivers. I paddled down the lake with the bike on the raft, then biked back with the raft on the bike. It worked well. It was in part preparation for my upcoming Mexico trip (I’m going to try Salsipuedes Canyon again), but also it’s just great to get out there and have some fun!
This is a nice area just outside Vancouver. It is a gateway to a lot of very rugged back country terrain. Technically you aren’t allowed to overnight here, but I’m sure if you hike back into the boonies no one would know or care. The issue is the parking gates close at night and you aren’t allowed to park overnight.
I got there after lunch, using up about a third of the charge in my car to get there. I had no heat, to conserve battery, and it was just above freezing. But I was all bundled up. While getting the bike together a BC Hydro truck pulled up and and asked if I was going out overnight. I said, “No, I’m just going up for the day.” “Well you look like you’re going camping”. “No”, I replied, “that’s an inflatable boat on my bike”. Oh cool, well have fun! “Sure,” I said, “the gate closes at 6 right?”. So I had a few hours to go up the lake and back.
Everyone looks and asks about the bike. That day I had three people ask if the bike is “electric assist”. I’m not sure why. That’s one of the biggest drawbacks to fatbikes, is the attention they attract. It’s fine up here since I love talking to people about all this unusual equipment I have, and to spread the sport. But in certain parts of the world, you really don’t want to attract too much attention.
During the ride I noticed that something seemed loose in the pedals. It got worse and worse and finally I decided to take a look. The crank arm bolts were coming loose! I tightened them up no problem but I hope the trail grit that was sticking to the grease doesn’t cause any issues. I’ll spin it really carefully at home to listen for any grinding.
This Gopro mount works pretty well. The others I tried vibrated too much; I’ll have to brace them some more.
..
Before I knew it I was crossing the lake on the floating bridge and back by 4:30. They even had a bike wash station beside the parking lot!
All in all, a great time was had by all, and all was me.
Hi,
Nice story,Iam also looking for a packcraft but I can ‘t decide which model will be the best for me.I travel most of the time with a BF Pocket llama and panniers.Iam 1,70cm can you recommend me a model?
Thank you
April 17, 2017 at 10:43 am
Hi Gerardo. I have the Alpackaraft Yukon I believe. They make different sizes to suit your height. It is petty expensive and may be more than you need. I also have a Klymit LWD which is only a couple hundred dollars and pretty small when rolled up. It is definitely not as sturdy, you will get wet, and you cannot store your gear inside the pontoons. But for river crossings and light lake use it might be good enough for you.
Mark
April 22, 2017 at 3:10 am